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Destroyers: ‘Tin Cans and Greyhounds’

Sailors who served aboard destroyers (or other ships), and general readers of military history may want to check out this new book, “Tin Cans & Greyhounds: The Destroyers That Won Two World Wars,” by Clint Johnson. I have read several books that have highlighted the role of destroyers in naval combat. This is one of the very best.

“Other warships [ especially battleships and aircraft carriers ] may have won the fame and glory, but the versatile—and unheralded—destroyer deserves a special place in naval history,” Walter R. Borneman recently wrote in his review of Johnson’s book in the Wall Street Journal.

In Tin Cans & Greyhounds, there is no mention of my ship, USS Higbee (DD-806), nor of other Gearing Class destroyers which came out of American shipyards late in World War II (and also served in the Korean War and Vietnam War). But Johnson’s coverage of the older tin cans that served in World War I and World War II (and bore the brunt of a lot of combat) is fascinating, heavily researched and well-written.